Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Nachtschwärmerin

I really fucking liked nightcrawling. it was so sad throughout that I took a 3 week break from reading it. I have two younger brothers so anything with a young boy that needs protecting is immediately gonna crack my heart open. The last 3 pages also beat me down in a way I wasn’t expecting BECAUSE the end wasn’t that bad? I’m not sure if i’ve been hearing too many folks say the ending really hurt them or what but… I feel like this reality is very true and near for a lot of black folks so I was not hurt or surprised more than I am by being black every day in a country that doesn’t give a shit about me. Maybe it’s all the open ends and “what happens to ___” that has left folks reeling but, again, cannot say.

That aside, the book??? It felt like my emotions were getting jumped every single page. There was nearly no relief, but I couldn’t stop reading. I think this book is very similar stylistically to The Hate U Give (A lot of colorful background characters that aren’t fully fleshed out, a lot of strong values and beliefs presented from the author through the main character, and a deep love for where the characters come from. You can tell Leila has a deep love for Oakland) until it’s not. Some of this prose is for sure over written and flowery but fuck did it knock me out of my shoes. Because who would think to pair the blows of poverty, trafficking, and how generally deplorable police are with language like this.

There are other parts where I read and was like “yeah, this feels like a debut by a young author” in the kindest way. There is always room for growth, and I think this is also the unfortunate result of reading a heavily talked about Oprah/Booksta book. She’s made a fan of me and i’ll ABSOLUTELY be back for her next ones.

I get why this book was what it was, but personally I do wish it had more black joy. Take it or leave it, but there is so much misery and awfulness going on that I think you have black books for white folks and black books for black folks. The difference between The Help or a Tyler Perry production and a James Baldwin or Toni Morrison. Sad, but loving black folks vs sad and putting that on display for folks who don’t know black people irl, people who don’t watch the news, people who aren’t tapped in to politics, etc. This didn’t feel like the former, but it wasn’t quite at the ladder for me. A weird limbo. I think when writing truth to power for all these stories for and about black folks, I personally as a reader value something to pull your head above water.

The characters, I wanted to love but so many of them felt cut short just as i was beginning to know them. The really bad ones felt super hallow and like they were there to serve only a purpose and get you to the next few pages. This is where it can get hard to critique something based on a true story. Something that happens every day more gruesome than even described here. idk I guess all i’m saying is being black every day prepared me for this ending but not the things leading up to it. The book itself was very good, and I have high hopes for what will come next.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

plantybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In Nightcrawling, we are introduced to Kiara and her brother Marcus - both high school drop outs who are incomprehensibly surviving after their father has died and their mother has gone to prison/halfway house. Neither has any marketable skills, and unlike so many of these stories, neither has a burning talent or motivation to "do whatever it takes" or "to make something of themselves." Marcus dreams of becoming a rap star, but lacks the discipline - and talent- to achieve this. Kiara, the main character is focused on trying to keep her family- Marcus- housed and intact. She lives very much in the moment and never has a care for future goals, or even a thought for what her life may be like in 3 months or 3 years. As Kiara focuses on the immediate picture of a rent increase and needing to cover the rent, she finds herself falling into a situation which pays but leaves all sorts of scars and create more problems as she continues on. She demonstrates almost no forethought and just cannot seem to extricate herself. Kiara is then fingered as a star witness in a police scandal - she agrees to testify only because she believes it will help her brother, and her to obtain a bit of cash, and get him out of jail. Things don't go exactly according to plan, and in the end Kiara is left to find her own truth.
I appreciated the insights in this novel. It highlights the difficult choices that people make, as well as the reality that even when one stands up for what's right, a conclusion of justice doesn't always come, and that even when justice doesn't occur, everyone's lives continue and we all must find a way to create meaning to move on.
To be honest, I didn't totally "enjoy" this novel. It made me very uncomfortable at times and left me with a feeling that our social service type "nets" are wholly inadequate. So it's not a "cozy" read. I think this book, however, does have a place and is an important piece of fiction. (which a lot of the cozy fiction reads are not.) I was glad to discover it was long listed for the Booker Prize. It will be interesting to see more work from the author.

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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andrea2428's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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